"Believable characterizations & conniving villainess"
Miss Katrina Jones moves into a rundown house with her Aunt
Hattie, whose friend, the Dowager Countess of Udall, has
allowed them to live in a house that her son has recently
won. The Earl of Udall has other plans for this house, for
he hopes to install his new mistress in this house. The
Earl and Katrina have a confrontation and Katrina, who has
nowhere else to go, refuses to leave. The Earl drops a
bracelet that he has recently purchased for his new
mistress. When his mistress pitches a fit over the missing
bracelet, he ends the relationship. The mistress has her
lover break into Katrina's room in order to retrieve the
bracelet but Katrina no longer has the bracelet because she
has taken it to the Dowager. The Earl is attracted to Katrina and is drawn to her
dwelling where he happens upon the break-in. The Earl
climbs into Katrina's bedroom to save her but instead of
finding a hysterical woman, he finds an intelligent woman
reasoning with the thief. The thief leaves and the Earl
remains. Before the Earl can leave, Katrina's aunt catches
them alone in Katrina's bedroom and insists they must
marry, for Katrina has been compromised. Can these two
people make a marriage work? THE RELUCTANT LANDLORD is a well-written book which
contains very good characterizations. If you like brooding
heroes, this is a book for you. The Earl has been betrayed
by his dead wife and his mother and is very distrustful of
women. Katrina, an independent woman for her time, has
experienced abuse from her gambler father and has her own
issues to deal with. It is wonderful to see their
relationship grow. The Earl's sister-in-law wants the Earl for herself. This
obsessed woman uses her son as a weapon against the Earl
and continues on her quest to have the Earl, even though
she knows a marriage between them is illegal. Ms. Knight
has created a very believable villainess, who I wanted to
strangle. THE RELUCTANT LANDLORD is the third book that I have read
by this author, but hopefully it won't be the last. I
truly enjoyed all of Ms. Knight's books, and will be
looking for her other titles. I only hope she writes more
Regencies. © Copyright 2002
Reviewed for ParaNormal
Romance and BOOK ISLE
Paperbacks
Reviewed by Marlene Breakfield
Posted November 4, 2002
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